High Park Fire - Morning Update 10:15 a.m. 6/22/12

The High Park Fire is estimated at 68,440 acres with 60% containment.  The current cost of the fire to date is estimated at $21.6 million dollars.  There are 1,859 fire personnel, 18 helicopters (includes 3 Blackhawks), 9 bulldozers and 135 engines fighting the fire at this time with a 24-hour work schedule still in place.
Residents of Poudre Park were allowed to return on Thursday, 6/21/2012, at 12:00 pm (noon). Credentials are required and must be obtained at the checkpoint at Highway 14 and County Road 29C or at The Ranch. 
             
·         NOTE: This evacuation lift does NOT include Unger Mountain Road, Falls Gulch Road and King's Canyon Road (Boyd Gulch Road)
For residents who have evacuated livestock and large animals that are currently housed at The Ranch, there will be a follow-up meeting on Friday, June 22, 2012 at The Ranch inside of the Ranch-Way Feeds Indoor Arena in the grandstands. The meeting will be at 5:15 p.m.
·         The Ranch Staff, Larimer County Sheriff's Posse, Larimer Humane Society and CSU Ambulatory Vets will be available to answer questions regarding logistics and operations. They will also discuss follow-up items from the previous meeting.
The Rist Canyon, Glacier View and Poudre Canyon Volunteer Fire Departments are looking for donations to help defray the costs of firefighters assigned to the High Park Fire. To make a donation, please visit their websites at:
            Glacier View Fire - www.glacierviewfiredept.com
            Rist Canyon Fire - www.rcvfd.org
            Poudre Canyon Fire - www.poudre-fire.org
Firefighters have put in nearly 250,000 hours of work on this fire (this translates into almost 18 years worth of hours), with only one reported injury.
Fire Behavior:
Last night crews continued to patrol and mop up around structures and unburned islands within the fire perimeter. Good progress is being made as evidenced by fewer heat sources identified by infrared imagery. Crews also continued firing operations along the west end of Poudre Canyon Road (Highway 14) near Mount McConnel. Additional crews continued burning out the area east of Pingree Park Road and north of Old Flowers Road. 
Work continues on the southeast flank, near Redstone Canyon. Today crews will mop up and reinforce the line. On the north flank, the containment line is almost complete. Crews have brought the fire down to the intersection of Pingree Park Road and the Poudre Canyon Road (Highway 14) and will continue to hold the line.
On the west side, crews have completed firing operations from the junction of Highway 14 and Pingree Park Road south to Jack’s Gulch. Crews will continue firing operations to bring the fire down to Old Flowers Road. Burn operations are being conducted when weather conditions are favorable. It allows firefighters to remove fuels between established containment lines and the fire’s edge which lessens the chance of the fire making a rapid push. On the southwest flank, crews will work to improve Forest Road 100 which will be used as a contingency line.
Weather: 
A Red Flag Warning is in effect beginning at noon today and ending Saturday evening. Throughout the morning winds will gradually increase, becoming 15-25 mph gusting to 35. Temperatures will be 85 to 90 degrees with relative humidity of 10 to 15 percent. Fire activity is expected to increase in the afternoon as the Red Flag Warning goes into effect.
Structures Damaged:
The total of homes destroyed to date increased by two, for a total of 191 homes.  This increase is a result of locating homes that had not previously been identified in the initial assessment.  It is anticipated that this number could go up once the final assessment is complete. 
Officials are informing homeowners about fire damage as that information becomes available and the priority will be getting this information to residents first.  As more assessments are made and information becomes available, residents will be notified by subdivision at the daily citizen briefings.  Areas still evacuated are being evaluated to determine when residents may re-enter.  Factors being considered before lifting an evacuation include fire activity, utility repair, emergency traffic in the area, and road hazards such as falling rocks and trees.  Formal assessment of structures is a methodical process and will continue for at least a couple of weeks.  Some areas are still inaccessible due to fire activity and road hazards. 
  
Resident Information (Meetings, Evacuation Notices and Evacuation Lift Notices):
1.            Daily citizen briefings will continue to be held at 3:00 p.m. at The Ranch
2.            For residents who have evacuated livestock and large animals that are currently housed at The Ranch, there will be a follow-up meeting on Friday, June 22, 2012 at The Ranch inside of the Ranch-Way Feeds Indoor Arena in the grandstands. The meeting will be at 5:15 p.m.
·         The Ranch Staff, Larimer County Sheriff's Posse, Larimer Humane Society and CSU Ambulatory Vets will be available to answer questions regarding logistics and operations. They will also discuss follow-up items from the previous meeting.
3.            Fire officials issued an all-clear for Soldier Canyon and Mill Canyon Estates effective at 10 am on June 20th.  All residents are asked to remain on alert.  If fire conditions worsen, this area may be required to evacuate again.  Power has been restored to this area.
4.            Fire officials also issued an all-clear for the Hewlett Gulch area (effective at 12:15 p.m. June 20th) that is south and east of McNay Hill, south of County Road 74E, which includes Hewlett Gulch Road, Deer Meadow Way, Gordon Creek Lane and connecting roadways in that area.  We are asking residents in this area to please stay off roadways between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. when fire crews are changing shifts so that roadways are open to allow for the shift change to be completed.  This evacuation lift does NOT include the 9th-12th Filings of Glacier View, which is still under a mandatory evacuation.
Ø Refrigerators and freezers coming to the landfill need to be emptied of their contents (safety for the technician pumping out the Freon). Freon containing appliances are stored until we get enough to call the technician to pump the Freon (usually once a month).  Customers needing to dispose of this material can do this at the landfill, but they need to do this process in a different area (animal burial area) and then take the empty appliance to the appliance area.
Road Closure Information:
Larimer County Sheriff's Office now has a webpage dedicated to road closures due to the High Park Fire. Visit the link http://larimersheriff.org/site-page/high-park-fire-road-information for more information.
Photo and Video Links:
Photos and Video from the National Guard of the High Park Fire are available at the following sites:
Additional Information/Resources:
Larimer County has opened the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center on the Colorado State University Campus at Johnson Hall. The center is open Mon-Fri from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free for victims on the south side of the administration building. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.safety.colostate.edu.
Effective June 20, 2012: Eagle's Nest Open Space is OPEN as is County Road 23 (aka Centennial Drive), on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir.  This includes Sunrise Swim Beach and other day use areas on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir.

Public information is available at the Larimer County Emergency Information line at 970-498-5500 where information officers are answering the phone during the day and evening, and at www.larimer.org or on Twitter @larimersheriff or Inciweb atwww.inciweb.org/incident/2904/.
Find out if your loved ones are safe here (United Way Safe and Well Registry): 
For the latest updated map of the High Park Fire, check out this link:
http://larimer.org/highparkfire/highpark_0622_0130.pdf
Residents are reminded to receive emergency notifications on cell phones or email and should visit the website at www.leta911.org.
For Public Health Advisories regarding wildfires, see "Wildfires and Your Health" at www.larimer.org